Clear DefinitionsStorage Array
1 min read
Pronunciation
[staw-rij uh-rey]
Analogy
Like a bookshelf with multiple compartments where books are mirrored or striped across shelves for safety and quick access.
Definition
A collection of multiple disk drives or SSDs configured to work together, providing redundancy, performance improvements, or large capacity for data storage.
Key Points Intro
Storage arrays combine drives to meet enterprise demands for capacity, speed, and resilience.
Key Points
RAID levels: support striping, mirroring, or parity for fault tolerance
Hot spares: standby drives automatically replace failed units
High throughput: parallel I/O across multiple disks
Management: centralized controllers monitor health and performance
Example
A blockchain data center deploys a RAID 10 SSD array to host ledger data with both high write performance and redundancy.
Technical Deep Dive
Storage controllers implement hardware RAID engines for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, or 10. Parity calculations use dedicated ASICs to minimize CPU load. SNIA SMI-S standards provide management interfaces; SMART and SCSI-3 reports surface drive diagnostics.
Security Warning
RAID protects against drive failure, not data corruption or ransomware; backups remain essential.
Caveat
Complexity and cost increase with larger arrays; controller failure can disrupt all attached drives.
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